Dreams of Redemption
by buffyandspikefan
Summary: In an AU, set at the beginning of Season 7, Buffy experiences strange dreams of Spike. Will he return to Sunnydale a changed man?
1. Chapter 1

Buffy stood in the high school cafeteria, doling out punch. She hoped Principal Snyder liked this stupid parent teacher shindig. After all, if he didn't, it would be expulsion time. Willow, bless her, was keeping Buffy's mom away from Snyder and her teachers. Double duty. She heard a crash in the hallway. Vampires! She sprung into action, vaulting the punch table, rounding the corner and saw…. 

A guy, a little bit taller than her with short, curly brown hair and glasses, was attempting to set a table back up. Flyers were scattered all over the floor and the welcome sign with the balloons hung at an angle from the ceiling.

"I messed up your doilies and such," he said in a soft British accent. It seemed odd though, like she had heard his voice countless times and knew that he didn't sound like himself. But she had never seen this guy before. Yet, he looked vaguely familiar.

"That's O.K." She eyed the windows. Someone should be coming soon. Bursting through.

"Expecting someone love?" the guy walked up beside her. Buffy jumped, feeling too close to him, but somehow wanting to be closer.

"He's not coming you know."

"Who's not?" Buffy turned to look at him.

"The demon. He's not coming back. It's what you wanted isn't it? You said it often enough. You got your wish. He's gone." He turned to her, his gray eyes burning into hers. "That bastard will never touch you again, never try to force himself on you again. I took care of him."

"Spike? What did you do to Spike? Dust him? I should have, but I never could." But why did she feel sad that he was truly gone?

"I have a present for you Buffy." The man slipped something into her hand. She opened it slowly and saw a bloody piece of metal.

"The chip?"

"I ripped it from his head, love," the man's soft voice sounded wrong speaking of violence. "I reached inside the dead shell that housed that foul thing and I tore it out. I made him scream until he didn't have a voice left; yet he still continued. Silent screams of the damned. That's what he deserved." He caressed Buffy's cheek. "I did it all for you, my love. It's what you deserve. Bitch is going to get what she deserves!"

Buffy felt the tears slide down her face….

And when she woke, the tears were still there.

She tossed the sheets off of her. The tank top and pants she wore were soaked in sweat. Her mouth felt dry. She wiped the tears away and realized that she was shaking all over. She looked around her room; trying to orient her, take comfort in the surroundings. Her pictures of her friends, her mom and her sister; the butterflies on the wall; Mr. Gordo; Mr. Pointy on the dresser.

She shivered. A knock sounded on her door and Buffy jumped. "C-Come in."

Willow peeked in. "Hey. It's 9. You said to make sure you were up."

"Thanks."

"You O.K.? You look pale."

"Bad dream."

"Apocalypse premonition or naked in public bad?"

"Not sure. It was freaky though."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Nah. Not that big of a deal. Besides, the fun that is the Doublemeat Palace awaits."

"Yeah. I've got a class. Wanna go to a movie or something fun tonight? Dawn wanted to go to Janice's, so it's just the adults. I'll call Zander."

"O.K. I get off work at 7. You guys pick me up at the Palace."

At work, as Buffy fried up the hamburgers, she thought of the dream. The more she thought about it, the more it freaked her out. The man in her dream was so familiar…

"BUFFY. You're burning those burgers," a nasal voice interrupted her reverie. She half-turned to see Lee, one of the employees, frowning at her.

Buffy flipped the burgers quickly. "No, they're O.K. See? No burnage."

He glared at her, his piggy eyes glaring at her through coke bottle glasses. "You should never skimp on quality."

"You should never skimp on the deodorant," Buffy mumbled.

Her day moved so slowly. Especially when Lee was following her every move, always behind her, always criticizing her.

She had never been so relieved to see Zander and Willow in her life. And that was including every near death experience.

"Hey Boogie Girl. Are you ready to get your groove on?" Zander asked as they walked up to the counter.

"Past ready." Buffy yanked off her hat. "Gina, I'm clocking out."

"Where do you think you're going Buffy?" Lee came up behind her.

"Anywhere that's not here." She glared at him. Who did he think he was?

"It's 6:50. Your shift's not up for another ten minutes."

"It's dead here. Gina can handle anything that comes along in the next ten minutes. I've cleaned up the lobby, restocked the front end and mopped the floor. The Doublemeat Palace won't miss me if I leave nine minutes early."

He frowned. "I just might have to speak to the manager."

"You do that Lee. Good night." Buffy turned to her friends. "I'm gonna change. I'll meet you outside."

"You look like a human again," Willow offered as Buffy met them outside wearing a gold silk shirt and a long tan skirt with a slit up the front past her knees.

"As opposed to a Doublemeat clone like Lee?"

"Yeah what's with him Buff?" Zander asked. "Is he the Doublemeat Gestapo?"

"Really." Buffy smiled at her friends. "Let's forget about the hell that is the Palace. I'm ready to dance."

As the three walked away, they didn't notice Lee come out of the building. Nor did they notice when he changed from annoying human to a red demon.

"Just you wait Slayer," Lee growled. "I'll make you dance. The dance of death! I'm the new evil in town…"

KRACK.

Demon Lee slumped to the ground as two hands reached behind him and snapped his neck clean.

"Like I've never heard that one before mate," Spike said as he lit a cigarette. "Very unoriginal. Still, no one threatens my girl."

Spike followed her to the Bronze. He watched her laugh with her friends, dance and smile. His heart ached with a new pain. Buffy. So beautiful. When she stood by a pillar, watching Willow and Zander dance, he seized the moment and snuck over to her. He stood on the other side of the pillar, so near to her that it physically hurt. He wanted to take her in his arms so bad, kiss her until she was gasping for air. The intensity of his feelings was so deep, and it frightened him. He shook his head. No. He could not let her see him yet. But he could help her.

Buffy felt funny, a nagging sensation filling her. She looked behind the pillar, but there was no one there. She shook her head. She was going crazy.


	2. Chapter 2

Buffy sat with Tara at the Bronze. A familiar song played softly in the background, and though the place was packed, Buffy couldn't really hear anyone else talking.

"If it helps, I know what you're going through," Tara spoke.

"What?" Buffy turned back to her.

"It's hard to forgive someone you love for hurting you when you are most vulnerable. Especially when you don't realize you love them. Or won't let yourself love them."

"Tara, tell me you're not talking about Spike."

"It's O.K. if you love him Buffy. He's done good things and he loves you..."

"Loves me?" Buffy felt like crying. "Tara, he tried...he tried to force himself on me when I was hurt from a fight. How can someone who loves me do that?"

"Willow messed with my mind, Buffy. She made me remember what she wanted me to remember. What they did to both of us was horrible, unspeakable. But I forgave her, Buffy. Not just for her, but for me. I gave her a chance to make things right. Let him try to make it right. He really does love you. It just sometimes gets lost beneath all of the darkness in him. He has done nothing but regret it since it happened."

"What he did was unforgiveable."

Spike suddenly stepped out of the crowd and up to where she and Tara sat.

"Buffy, please. I'm so sorry. You're everything to me. I love you so much."

"You love nothing." Buffy felt the tears. "You're a disgusting thing that I should have killed a long time ago."

"Then do it!" Spike fell to his knees in front of her. "If you can't forgive me then end my suffering. I can't be sorry any more than I already am! I can't keep fighting myself for you. I can't love you when I know I should hate you!"

Tara suddenly jumped up from the table. "I tried. You know I tried!" She disappeared with a flash.

"Tara?" Buffy looked to where she had been, then back to Spike.  
He crumbled to dust in front of her.

Buffy stared in shock. "Spike?"

"Spike's gone." A man stood up on stage, a silhouette, his features flooded out by the lights. But it was that same voice as before. "I remain. You got what you wanted. Am I enough Buffy? I wonder if I can make you scream like he could."

Buffy woke with a start, once again drenched in sweat. The dreams were happening every night now. It had almost been a month since they started and during that time period, there had been absolutely no demon or vampire activity. That in itself made Buffy nervous. It was like the calm before the storm.

But factor in these dreams...

Buffy shivered. She had to go to work. She just hoped she wouldn't feel so haunted all day long.

"Can I get a cappuccino?" Dawn asked Buffy as they sat with Willow and Zander at the Bronze, listening to the band.

"Sure." Buffy handed Dawn a ten. "Get me one too."

"You O.K. Buffy? You look beat and we haven't had any vampy action lately," Zander asked, looking concerned.

"I know. I'm not sleeping well at night. I've been having these strange dreams"  
"You've had them since that one last month?" Willow asked.

Buffy nodded. "And they're increasing in frequency. It's not some sort of nightmare anymore. They're premonitions. They change, but one thing's always the same. Someone kills Spike for me."

"And that's a bad thing...how?" Zander growled.

"I don't know. But I always end up crying in those dreams. And when I wake up. I think that whatever kills him...might be worse."

"Or maybe you just don't want him to die," Willow put in softly.

Dawn returned then. "What did I miss?"

Buffy sipped her cappuccino. "Dream analysis."

"Really? Well, I've been having this dream, I'm being chased by a bear and..."

Spike watched Buffy from his seat at the bar. His beer sat in front of him, untouched. He preferred hard liquor, not this watered down crap. He had only ordered it to get the bartender off his back.

Even from where he was sitting, he could tell how sad Buffy looked. He wished it was because she was missing him, but knew it wasn't true.

Two guys walked in the bar and sat down next to him, ordering beers. Spike was ignoring them until...

"Hey Parker, isn't that Buffy Summers over there?"

Spike turned back to them.

"Yeah, that's her alright." The brown haired man grinned.

"You hit that, right?"

"Oh yeah." Parker grinned. "All night long."

"That's what I'm talking about." The blond haired guy slapped his hand.

"Wasn't too bad either. But the next morning, she was all 'isn't this a relationship?'"

The two laughed and Spike felt his blood boil.

"It was so pathetic. Stupid bimbo."

"Maybe you should watch what you say about women, mate," Spike growled.

"Excuse me man?" Parker sized him up and apparently Spike didn't measure up well. His mistake.

"You heard me pouf. You need to shut your mouth where Buffy Summers is concerned."

"You gonna make me, mate?" Parker swaggered.

Long ago, the man known as William would have walked away or gotten pummeled.

But now he was Spike. A badass vampire over a century old with his soul back. The William half of him was aching to finally stand up for himself, and the demon half rejoiced that he would finally be able to harm a human again.

Spike hit him so hard Parker flew off his chair and landed on the floor quite a distance away, screaming and holding his jaw.

Buffy's head whipped around at the sound of a fight.

"Easy Buffy. It's just a bar fight," Zander soothed.

"Maybe." Buffy watched the fight and saw the victor get up. A man with bleached white hair with dark brown highlights in it, wearing a long black coat. He looked in her direction.

"Or maybe my dreams make sense now. Spike's chipless."

Spike swore. This was not how he wanted her to see him again. Pummeling her ex. He took off for the exit.

She caught up with him in the alley. "Spike."

His heart leaped when he heard her voice say his name again. All through those dark months, it had been her ghost that kept him sane. The memory of her voice.

And it had been the memory of one moment that haunted him, more than all those he had savagely murdered.

It flashed back to him in that moment, paralyzing him, bringing a pain so horrible he felt nauseous.

"You have got to be the most incredibly stupid vampire in all of history." Her voice was hard, full of pain and hate. "You have the audacity to show up here after what you did to me and after you lost your chip. Thanks for making it easier." She pulled out a stake.

"Buffy...love...I have so much to tell you."

"You have no right to call me that. And I'm through listening." She attacked him with a series of kicks. He bore the brunt of two and caught the third, knocking her down.

"I've been helping you, Slayer. Haven't you noticed how dead it's been around here? I've been killing your enemies."

"And Parker was just another of the list?" She flipped up easily and went at him again.

"He was saying nasty things about you. I punched him once. Maybe twice."

"Chip doesn't allow you to touch a human, Spike."

"I don't need the chip anymore."

"You're right. Because you're going to be dust."

"Buffy...Buffy!" He warded off her blows and caught her arms, pining them to her sides. The stake went clattering to the pavement.

He looked into her eyes. "Please listen to me for a moment. After all I've done for you, I deserve that much." He slid his arms around her. "All those dark months, all I wanted was to hold you in my arms again," he brushed a strand of hair from her face. "To touch your hair, your face..."

"Don't!" Buffy forced him away with a strangled sob. "You have no right to touch me. Not now. Not after you tried to rape me!"

The words seemed to sting them both. They stood staring at each other.

"Buffy please. I'm so sorry. I would love to be able to take it back, but I can't. I'm trying to make it up to you."

"Slaying for me is not going to make it up!"

"That isn't all I've done for you. I'm trying to be what you want me to be. I did it all for you love. It's what you deserve."

Buffy stumbled back, feeling cold, knowing where she'd heard those words before. "What?" She just then realized his voice sounded just a little different.

"Buffy, I can't say sorry enough. You're everything to me. I love you so much."

"You love nothing!" Buffy felt the tears. "You're a disgusting thing that I should have killed a long time ago."

"Then do it!" Spike fell to his knees in front of her, holding up the stake. "If you can't forgive me, then end my suffering! All those nights when the memories were too much for me to handle and all I could hear was your voice over and over again begging me to stop. Finally seeing the pain in your eyes that I couldn't see before. I have done nothing, nothing since that night but regret that it happened. I have spent so many nights tormented by it, screaming until I didn't have a voice left; yet still continuing. I asked for this pain for you. If you can't love me, then do what you're supposed to do and KILL ME!"

Buffy felt the tears streaming down her face. "What have you done Spike?"

"You know what I've done, Slayer. What I've done to prove my love to you. To seek redemption." He got up and walked over to her, taking her hand and placing it on his chest, holding it there. They were standing so close together, Buffy felt like she couldn't breathe.

"Can you feel it?" he asked softly, almost in a whisper. "Flowing through my dead heart. Or is it in my brain? I'm not sure where it's housed"  
Buffy looked into his eyes. "Oh my God. William."

"Buffy?" she heard Dawn's voice.

"Buffy, you O.K.?" Zander called.

Buffy stepped away from Spike. "Just a minute you guys." "Buffy, was it Spike?" Willow rounded the corner. "Well, yeah." Buffy turned back but Spike was gone.

"Did you dust him?" Zander asked.

"No, he was right here a second ago."

"Must not have wanted to see us," Dawn grumbled.

"More like afraid to," Zander growled.

"Was his chip not working anymore?" Willow asked.

"That's one way of putting it. Another would be Spike has a soul." "You're not serious," Zander walked up to her. Come on, Buffy, you know he's lying."

"No I don't think he is," Buffy said softly. "I think that's what my dreams have been trying to tell me."


	3. Chapter 3

He walked along the graveyard, a familiar almost homey place for a vampire. Though tonight it didn't seem so welcoming. He skirted around the tombstones, glancing nervously about. 

"Why so nervous, William?" a mocking voice rang out.

Spike turned to see a woman wearing clothing from the late 1800s standing next to a tombstone. "Anne?" he breathed. "It can't be you. You're…"

"Dead? Well so are you. Yet you still go on. You took my life so you could continue yours. Do you still write poetry, William?"

Spike stumbled back and fell over a tombstone. A man stood next to it.

"I was on my way home to my wife and children. They had to beg on the street because of you!"

"Not me!" Spike jumped up. "It wasn't me!"

"I should have strangled you as soon as you came out of my womb, William." His mother stood in his way. "You had the devil in you even then."

"Oh God, oh God," Spike stumbled back.

"I don't think he's going to answer you," an 11-year-old girl with black hair glared at him.

Spike lurched around them and circled a tombstone, trying to get away.

"Did it make you feel like a big man, all of the killing?" a trim black woman with an Afro asked. The coat that he stole from her was back on her, floating in a non-existent breeze. "Is that what the attraction was? You were a pathetic nothing before you were given the power. Is the swagger just to cover up the memory of a nothing momma's boy?"

Spike brushed past her and fled. Ghostly victims sprang up around him, screaming at him.

"Murderer!"

"Coward!"

"Bastard!"

"Devil!"

He stumbled and fell and they were upon him, thousands of them. They tore at him and he knew they wanted to rip him apart. His victims come to take their revenge. Some he hadn't even killed but watched as Dru had drank them. They wanted him just the same.

"You don't deserve happiness!"

"You don't deserve forgiveness!"

"You don't deserve redemption!"

He screamed.

They stopped. They weren't looking at him anymore. They were looking back to where he had run from. And they were whispering.

"She's here!"

"She's come!"

Spike sat up and watched as they parted to make way for someone.

She looked like an angel. Her white shirt and skirt set off her blond hair. She seemed to light up the darkness of the night.

"Buffy," he whispered.

"You are so pathetic, William," she said in her steely Slayer voice. "You think coming back with a soul will make me forgive what you did? You hurt me in the most despicable way and having your soul back is supposed to make up for it? A pushed around bookworm loser is supposed to make me welcome you back with open arms? Please. I'm never going to care about you. Not quite a monster, not quite a man. You were good for shag, but nothing else. You're beneath me."

The monster in him raged. He felt his face slide into the vampire. "You're going to pay you cold-hearted bitch!" He grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her to him. She struggled but he overpowered her. His fangs sunk into her soft flesh and her blood warmed him. He let her corpse fall to his feet. He stared at it, watched the blood turn her white shirt red.

"My God, William, what have you done?"

He looked up. All of his victims were gone. Only one woman stood there, looking at him in disbelief.

"Tara?"

She shook her head and turned away. "You don't deserve love."

Spike woke with a gasp, feeling sick. He got dressed quickly. He had to get out of the crypt.

Buffy walked along the graveyard, thinking. She knew that a huge obstacle to any feelings for Spike had always been no soul. And now…

She noticed she was right outside of his door. She stood outside, hand on the crypt, wanting and not wanting to go in. She shook her head. She had been over this so many times over the last couple of weeks. She had talked about it to anyone who would listen, Dawn, Willow, Giles, Zander reluctantly, even co-workers, though she left out the vampire part. She had come to a decision, now it was time to act on it. No more wimping out. Time to face the past like a woman.

Spike had to get outside, get rid of the dream residue. Hurt something preferably. "I'm not a slave to the beast anymore," he told himself. "I control it. I love Buffy. I'm not going to do anything to hurt…" he stopped and cocked his head. She was outside his door. He stood quietly in the crypt.

If it were trouble, she would have barged in.

If it were to kill him, she would have barged in.

That only left one thing and he wasn't playing anymore. He went out through the tunnels.

Buffy took a deep breath. Here goes nothing, she thought. She opened the door. "Spike?" Even as she walked in and looked around, she knew he was gone.

Spike walked along the cool night. "I'm not going to be some bloody pouf like Angel and moan and mope because I'm not worthy of some girl. I'm not going to live like a beat dog, ready to snap. If I'm not worthy of love right now, I'll kick some ass until I am. No brooding.

A scream pierced the air.

"Time to do some damage!" he ran to the sound.

Four X'ha Guila demons surrounded a woman with a toddler. The woman was bent down, her arms around the child, as if that could protect her. The X'ha Guila laughed and chatted in their own language. Spike knew what X'ha Guila liked to eat.

"Gents am I interrupting dinner?"

One of the X'ha Guila turned to look at him. "Get lost vampire."

One of them nudged him. "Give the vamp the woman."

"You can have the woman vamp, but the sweetling is ours!" the third one crowed.

The woman screamed at this. "Please! Please help us!"

Spike looked at her. "Taking a walk at night with the kiddie is not a good idea around these parts. Let this be a lesson to you." He vamped out. "Time for some fun."

Buffy decided to take a swing by the park and head for home. Patrol was a bust. There was nothing. Because he was taking care of it all. For her. For redemption. The others might not like it, but Spike or William, whoever he was now, would be an asset to the Scoobies.

A woman clutching a toddler close to her chest ran by her, crying.

Buffy started after her. "Hey! Are you O.K.? Can I help?"

The woman slowed but didn't stop. "Don't go any farther! Monsters! Thank God for that man! He saved us!" She headed towards the police station.

Buffy watched to make sure she made it into the building, and then headed towards the park. She had an idea as to who the man was.

Spike snapped the neck of the second X'ha Guila. The first one already lay dead at his feet. The other two charged him and he dodged one but not the other. It knocked him down and Spike managed to kick it in its stomach as he went over. The demon growled and slashed at Spike with his claws. Spike winced as he felt the claws filet his side.

The other one was ready to join its buddy when it took a sidekick to the face. It growled at Buffy.

Spike punched his demon in the nose, shattering it despite the demon's protective plating. "I have this."

Buffy kicked her demon in the head again. "Can't let you have all the fun. Besides, some woman was singing the praises of her guardian angel. I had to know if it was you."

"Surprised?" Spike took a punch and returned one.

"By you? Always."

As the demon went for Spike, he reached up and ripped out its throat, the only part on the demon not completely covered by those plates. The demon fell over dead. He grimaced at the smell. "Demon blood. Nasty stuff. My clothes are going to stink for weeks." He turned back to Buffy's fight. "Are you done playing?"

Buffy kicked the demon hard in the back of its neck and Spike heard a snap. So much for protective plates. "Now I am."

"Can't let a man get any action can you Slayer?" Spike asked her. "Here I am trying to do you a favor, trying to make your job easier so you can spend quality time with Little Bit and your friends, have an actual life and what do you do? Go out patrolling. Interrupt my fight."

"Don't do me any favors, Spike."

"No chance of that Slayer. Doesn't do me any good. Never going to win you over. You just don't care. It doesn't matter though. I'm a new man. I want to save the world," he said sarcastically, that familiar sardonic grin spreading across his face.

Buffy's resolve came back at that familiar smile. "God I've missed you." She walked towards him.

The smile dropped and he looked at her in shock. "What?"

She kissed him before he could say anything else. He was surprised but didn't let it get the better of him. He pulled her against him and kissed her back.

She pulled away and looked down.

"So is this the cue to slap me and take off?" he asked, hating himself for it.

"I'm sorry William. I've been over this so many times since I found out about…you. It was so easy to be with you before, I could let myself be distant, not worry about getting hurt in a relationship, because what we had, it was not a relationship. It wasn't anything. I can't live like that. I have to face life. I don't want to be hurt by you Spike."

"I won't hurt you Buffy I promise." He took her by the shoulders and he knew it was true. Dreams be damned, he was not going to harm her ever again. "What happened before I left, it was crazy."

She turned away. "It's not even that Spike. It's over and done with and we can't go back and change it, no matter how much we want to. It's in the past. It's just…I haven't exactly had the most healthy relationship barometer. I've been hurt so many times in all of my relationships I would just like a healthy relationship for a change."

"And evil blood sucking vampire doesn't equal healthy, I know." Spike looked into her eyes. "But Buffy, I love you. That has to be healthy."

"Spike…William…"

"Stop calling me that! It doesn't matter what you call me, I'm still the same person! The man you despise…"

"The man I love."

"The man you…" he stared at her. "What did you say?"

"I love you." She kissed him again.

He took her hand. "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"To go knock down a building."

"Not exactly in the healthy relationship guidelines. Walk me home. Maybe if you're good, I'll let you see my room."

"I've seen your room before, remember? You were all delusional at the time…"

"God you're dense."

And in another world, in a place where time had no meaning, the soul that used to be a shy girl named Tara smiled. "So it's O.K. then?"

"Everything is back on schedule, thanks to you. Your presence in their dreams helped, " the voice echoed off the walls.

"So it will all come to pass? The prophecies will come true?"

"Yes. Soon the one will come. We, The Powers That Be, have decreed it. So shall it be."

Tara smiled.


	4. Chapter 4

Buffy walked along the graveyard, stake in hand, but at her side. It was a cool night, a crisp autumn evening, and she wore a zipped-up powder blue hooded sweatshirt with matching pants that flared just below the knee. She hummed softly as she crunched along in the leaves, skirting headstones. It was a slow night, like most nights as of late had been. It was Sunnydale, the mouth of hell itself, and yet there was no vampire or demon activity anywhere. Buffy sighed. She wished she had taken Willow up on her offer to co-patrol. She could use the company.

Buffy was about ready to pack it up and call it a night when she felt her Slayer-sense tingle, as it were. She just suddenly became hyper aware that something was following her, stalking her. She stopped walking.

"Hello?" she called out to the air. "Is someone there?"

No answer.

"Look, I know you're there. You'd better quit following me. You might make me angry and you wouldn't like me when I'm angry."

No response save Buffy's beating heart.

"I'm not playing your stupid game. If you want to fight, bring it. Otherwise, I'm going home and watching Conan. I think Freddie Prinze Jr. is on and I don't want to miss it because some lame-o vampire or demon or whatever decided to play follow the Slayer."

It happened to quick for Buffy to react. Just as her brain registered that footsteps were coming up behind her, strong arms suddenly enveloped her, pining her arms to her sides, the stake dropping uselessly to the ground.

"Slayer…" the vampire hissed in her ear. "You're mine."

"That's what you think," Buffy tried to struggle, but the vampire held her tight.

"That's right, put up a fight," the vampire growled in her ear, fangs dragging across her neck. "I like it rough." He started to drag her towards a small crypt behind them. "First, a little fun and then a little dinner."

"Buffy? Buffy is that you?" Dawn's voice rang out into the night.

The vampire relaxed against Buffy's body. "Oh bloody hell!" he swore softly. "I was just getting into it."

Buffy laughed softly. "You actually scared me when you grabbed me from behind like that."

Dawn and a tall boy appeared from around a tall tombstone. "Buffy is that…what were you two doing?"

"Dawn, what are you doing out so late at night in the cemetery of all places?" Buffy's face turned red.

"I could ask you the same thing," Dawn crossed her arms. "James, this is my sister Buffy and her boyfriend William. Only everyone calls him Spike. Guys, this is James."

"Hi," Buffy smiled at him.

"Hello," Spike said coolly, giving him the once over. "And how do you know Dawn?"

"We go to school together. I'm a senior," James said. "I offered to walk Dawn home from the Bronze. It's dangerous to be out walking alone at night."

"That's nice," Buffy gave Dawn a look. "I thought you and Janice were going to get a ride home from the Bronze."

"It was a nice night. I thought I'd walk," Dawn looked pointedly at Buffy and then at James.

"We were going to stop at the Espresso Pump on the way," James offered. "Would you like to join us?"

Buffy smiled at him. Manners, how rare. "Thanks, but we really need to be getting home. Dawn, be home by 11:30?"

"I'll have her home by 11," James promised. "It was very nice to meet you Buffy."

Buffy smiled again at him and Spike rolled his eyes. "Likewise."

Dawn took his hand and Buffy heard her say something about how weird her sister was as they walked away. She turned to Spike.

"God, I hate him," Spike said, lighting up a cigarette. "He's so phony. He reminds me of all those wankers I hated from when I was alive."

Buffy gave him a half-smile. "He has manners."

"I had manners."

"What happened to them?"

He gave her a piercing look. "You don't like manners. Anyway, I never sucked up to girls' parents like that."

"He was not sucking up. Besides, I seem to remember someone having tea with my mom, laughing at her jokes, having a merry old time," Buffy took his arm as they walked home.

"I liked your mother," Spike said seriously. "That was not sucking up. She was a genuinely nice lady. She always treated me kindly even though she knew what I was. Excepting the time she knocked me on the head with an axe, but I was trying to kill you at the time, so can't say that I blame her there."

"Why is it I didn't kill you then?"

"Same reason I never killed you in the million chances I had. We lacked the killing instinct with each other."

"What million chances? There was never a time that you came close to killing me. Usually I beat the crap out of you and you ran off before I could finish it."

Spike smiled. "Oh really? What about Halloween when everyone turned into monsters and you were a delicate Victorian age girl?"

"I beat the crap out of you and you ran away."

"My teeth were at your throat."

"Just not quick enough, I guess."

"I was plenty quick. The one day when I had the gem of Amara and got to go about in the sunlight I almost had you."

"I ripped the ring off your finger, you ran away."

"I was on fire, of course I ran away!" Spike was indignant. "Well, what about the night when I was going to shoot you?"

Buffy looked at him, eyes wide. "What do you mean? When were you going to shoot me?"

"That night when I came to your house and you were sitting on the porch crying. I had a gun. I cocked it. What did you think I was going to do with it?"

"I don't know. I wasn't really that concerned about you at the moment. And you weren't pointing it at me, so for all I knew, you were going to take potshots at demons or something. But I guess you could've had me there, considering I didn't even realize you were trying to kill me. But you still didn't do it. You realized that the chip would have burned your brain and that I would have then beat the crap out of you and you would've ran away."

"I didn't do it because any resolve I had to do away with you melted away when I saw you crying. I realized then how much I loved you. Even now when you're insulting me, I love you."

"You know, the only possible explanation for me saving you from all the nasties out to get you is that, deep down, I liked you. Maybe even falling in love with you. But the only reason why I never staked you all those years was that you ran too fast," She smiled mischievously. "Like a girl."

"Oh, that's it!" He grabbed her and pulled her against him, kissing her passionately. "Call me a girl, willya," he growled against the side of her neck.

He suddenly pulled away from her and stood stock-still. He looked around them as if he could hear something far off.

"What's wrong?" Buffy asked, Slayerness in her voice.

"I don't know. Just a feeling I have." He vamped out without realizing he did it. "It's like…" he stopped and devamped. "Come on."

They made it to Buffy's house in record time. Spike seemed agitated the whole way, glancing around and not really listening to her.

"…So Giles should be back in a couple of weeks and I'm just going to stake you here and now, is that O.K.?" Buffy said, staring at Spike.

"Mmhmm," Spike said, looking around them.

"WILLIAM!"

He turned back to her. "Sorry?"

"I just asked if I could stake you. You've haven't been paying attention to me at all. What is up with you? What are you looking for?"

"Nothing. I've got to go. I'll see you later," he started to walk off.

"You're not going to stay?" Buffy asked softly, hurt in her voice.

"I'll be back by morning." He walked up to her and kissed her long and hard. He pulled away slowly and looked into her eyes. "I love you."

"You're freaking me out. What is going on?"

"I've just got some things to check on. Nothing that concerns Slayers." He walked off into the darkness.

Buffy watched him go, feeling a coldness growing in the pit of her stomach. Usually a sign of impending evil. Not good.

He checked the spot where he had felt it earlier, the usual haunts, even the docks. Nothing. He was beginning to wonder if he was going crazy. There was no mistaking that feeling; he knew what it meant. But his search brought up nothing.

He could feel the coming dawn against his back as he made his way to Buffy's house. Ever since that night a couple of months ago when she had told him she loved him, Spike had been living at Buffy's house. While she slept at night, Spike would often watch T.V., listen to CDs or even read (bookwormishness had reared its ugly head when his soul had returned), but usually he began and ended the night in her bed.

The curtains in her room were drawn against the coming sun, but he could still see her clearly. He got in bed next to her, trying not to disturb her.

She stirred as he put his arm around her. "What time is it?"

"Almost dawn." He kissed her softly.

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

Spike frowned. "No. It doesn't matter. I didn't exactly want to find it anyway."

Buffy sat with Dawn on the couch, pretending to watch the movie they had rented. Spike had offered to patrol for her so she could spend some quality Dawn time, but Buffy knew secretly he didn't want her around so he could search for his elusive thing. For the last week he had been distant, disappearing every night and coming back just before dawn. He still wouldn't tell her just what he was looking for.

"I guess this movie isn't too scary to you, huh?" Dawn said to Buffy.

"Movie violence kinda tame compared to the real thing." Buffy ate some of the popcorn they had made. "It was sort of neat how the maniac made that guy's eyes pop out when he crushed his skull."

"Or how he beheaded that woman with only a little kitchen knife," Dawn said brightly. "We're really sick, aren't we?"

"Occupational hazard," Buffy smiled at her. "Oh look, he's going to pop out from behind the door."

The music reached a fevered pitch as the maniac grabbed the girl.

"You know who would get a kick out of this? Spike. It's too bad he didn't stick around," Dawn said softly. "Are you guys O.K.?"

Buffy flinched. "I think so Dawnie."

The phone rang and Dawn jumped up. "I hope it's James!"

Buffy smiled, remembering how it felt to be sixteen. "I think I'm going to see if I can catch up with Spike. We'll finish the movie when we get back, O.K.?"

Dawn gave her a thumbs up. "Nothing James, what are you doing?"

Spike walked along the graveyard. He could sense it, his skin felt hot. "I know you're here. Why don't you just come out of hiding now?"

He could hear a soft humming, an ancient melody. He turned and she seemed to slip through the shadows, an ethereal ghostly figure.

So many memories and feelings flooded him, just seeing her there. "Drusilla," he whispered her name softly.

Her big dark eyes swallowed him up. She cocked her head to the side. "You came back. But he's still there, isn't he?" she floated up to him and lifted a hand up to his face like she was caressing his cheek, yet not making actual contact. "Beneath the surface. He's always under there, just wanting to get out." She frowned at him. "Give me my boy back! My knight. You've hidden him and I can't see him anymore!" She lashed out to scratch him, but he caught her hand and twisted it. She gasped in pain, but a huge smile crossed her face. "There you are! Hurt me again!"

He pushed her away. "Why are you here Dru?"

She circled him. "The stars have been whispering me secrets. They're naughty, wicked. Told me dirty things." She gave a soft, mad giggle. "I won't let her hurt you. You're still my boy, my Spike."

"What do you mean Dru? Who's going to hurt me?"

"She'll bring it. That dark nasty thing that wants to spoil all of our fun. It will ruin us all Spike. Don't worry. Mummy will take care of the Slayer," she nipped at his earlobe. "And then I'll send nasty William away," she whispered into his ear.

He turned to face her, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Leave Sunnydale Dru. You know as well as I do that I love Buffy. I won't let you hurt her."

Drusilla suddenly vamped out and looked beyond him. "Shh…bad William! The Harbinger comes."

Buffy appeared from around a tree. She stopped as she saw them standing there together.

"Buffy, it's not what it looks like!" Spike said and Drusilla giggled.

"My boyfriend's vampy ex isn't trying to put the make on him? Because that's exactly what it looks like," Buffy frowned. "Is she what you've been sensing, been searching for?"

"I didn't want to get you involved Buffy. I just wanted to find her, get her out of town."

"I'm putting an end to this once and for all," Buffy said and pulled out a stake. "Hey, Queen of the Damned, wanna dance?"

"You took my boy away!" Drusilla hissed. "You won't bring the dark judge! I won't let you!"

They started towards each other and Spike moved to stop them, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I can't believe you dumped me for the Slayer!" Harmony said and punched him.

Spike stared at her as he started to get up. "Harm?"

"I only agreed to help Druzilla kill the Slayer so I could get even with you. Jerk!" Harmony kicked him in the ribs.

Buffy and Drusilla exchanged blows. Drusilla grabbed Buffy by the hair and yanked her head back. "You had Angelus, why did you want my Spike?" she hissed and started to bring her fangs down on Buffy's neck.

Buffy head butted her. "You've got a problem hanging on to men lady."

Drusilla stumbled back. "Wicked girl! The darkness calls out to you. Harbinger of the Judge it screams. Can't you hear it?"

"All I can hear is you yapping!" Buffy held up the stake. "But not for long!"

Spike punched Harmony. "You must be desperate if you're hooking up Drusilla. I know how much you hated her."

"Eww! I don't think so! I'm not into girls!" Harmony kicked Spike. "This is revenge on you, through and through."

Spike blocked her punch and grabbed her by the wrists. "But baby, I was only using the Slayer so I could get comfortable around town. Since I'm not chipped anymore, I don't need her. I can get back to having fun…with you."

Harmony softened. "Really?"

He grinned. "Really. I missed you Buttercup."

"I missed you Blondie Bear!" Harmony threw her arms around him. She gasped as the stake plunged through her back and her heart. "You suck!" She burst into dust.

Spike dropped the stake. "I broke up with you because you got on my bloody nerves you annoying twit!" He ran over to where Buffy and Drusilla were fighting.

Buffy was on top of Drusilla, ready to stake her when Spike grabbed her and pulled her away.

"No! Don't."

Buffy faced him and glared at him. "Telling me to not stake your girlfriend only makes me want to do it more."

"She's not my girlfriend, not anymore. I offered to kill her once for you, remember? I don't care about her anymore." He looked back at Drusilla, who was slowly getting to her feet. "She helped me a long time ago, when I needed someone. I was nothing when I met her and she made me something. For that, I owe her."

"She made you an evil soulless creature Spike!"

"If not for her, I wouldn't be here Buffy." His gray eyes burned into hers. "I would have continued worshipping Cecily from afar, probably ended up settling for some spinster at 40, had a few kids and died shortly after. If not for Drusilla, I never would have met you."

Buffy relaxed slightly. "So what do you propose we do?"

Spike turned to Drusilla. "Leave now Dru. Don't ever come back here. Go back to Prague, you always loved it there. I owe you a second chance, but if you don't heed my advice, I will let Buffy send you to your eternal rest. Or damnation as the case may be."

Drusilla made that familiar moaning sound that always signified a vision had her. "Not my Spike. Bad William. You'll see. The One will come to judge the world and she will find it severely lacking. They'll be no more tea and cakes for us." She pouted. "We could stop her Spike. Teach her our games."

"Just leave Dru. I don't care where you go, so long as we never see you again."

Drusilla frowned at Buffy. "Harbinger. You'll bring death to us all." She suddenly stopped and smiled. "Or will you? The wind tells me it's still undecided." She giggled and walked away from them, humming softly.

Buffy looked at Spike. "You should have told me it was her."

"I knew how you'd react. Like I would if you told me you could sense Angel was near."

Buffy frowned. "I am not jealous."

"Mmm, green is not a good color for you." He took her hand.

"Did you understand what she was talking about?" Buffy asked as they walked towards home.

Spike shook his head. "It was a vision. But a vision of what, I don't know. But I have a feeling we'll find out soon enough." 


End file.
